The Defection Connection
by Abulic Decisions
Summary: Response to the WIKKT Drunks Challenge. Hermione and Snape want to be more than student and teacher during a party given for Lucius Malfoy.
1. Default Chapter

**Chapter 1**

            Draco was surprised to see his large eagle owl soar in through one of the many open windows of the Great Hall on the Friday morning of the weekend before Spring Holiday.  His mother had just sent a large package of sweets the previous weekend, so this letter was quite a surprise.  Draco opened it quickly, trying to hide it from his Slytherin housemates, and read his father's scrawling print.

_Dearest Draco,_

_            Just writing to give you fair warning of my arrival at your school tomorrow afternoon.  I doubt Dumbledore has told anybody anything of this gala as of yet.  I am not quite sure exactly how to tell you myself.  Dumbledore is throwing a very extravagant victory party tomorrow evening at Hogwarts.  Due to certain circumstances in my own personal bsuiness, I must turn against my own people.  I am joining the side of goodness and light.  Please do not take this news the wrong way.  I shall see you tomorrow afternoon._

_Sincerely,_

_Lucius_

Draco nearly dropped the letter to the floor in disgust.  How dare Father turn against family tradition!  What good would he do to society if he was not on the side of the Dark Lord?  Draco supposed he would never know.  He knew he was making a scene, but he quickly cast a spell on the letter to burn it up, and then nearly sprinted out of the dining hall, knocking Pansy Parkinson out of his way as he left.  The Slytherins all looked strangely at each other before returning to their breakfasts.  Draco had never behaved this way before during the past six and a half years they had all known each other.

            From his vantage point at the Staff Table, Professor Snape witnessed all of Draco's strange actions.  He supposed Draco had just been told about the Hogwarts Victory Party held in honor of his father.  All of the teachers were told about the party before the students.  Snape rose from the table, whispered something to Dumbledore, and then strode down the center aisle, following Draco's path.  Naturally, the curiosity of the student body was piqued by the superfluous amount of black fabric swishing past the tables.  After Snape had left the hall, Dumbledore rose to make his morning announcements, which would explain the actions of both student and professor.

            "Flibbertijibbet!  Buttons!  Sponge cake!  Daffodils!  It comes to my attention that one Mr. Lucius Malfoy has decided to assist our forces in the battle against evil."  Many of the students had looks of bewilderment on their faces as Dumbledore continued his speech.  "As many of you may or may not know, Mr. Malfoy has been debating his personal alliances for many months now.  With his decision to now battle evil, his life is in a precarious situation, and we will do our best to protect Mr. Malfoy in all of his future endeavors.  Due to this difficult decision, I believe a grand party is in our near future."  A twinkle appeared in Dumbledore's eye as he finished his announcement.  Even though everyone in the school now knew of the gala event, only Dumbledore knew of the extent of the festivities.

***          *            *            *            *            ***

            Draco was in complete shock as he stared into the dark green fires of the Slytherin common room.  Why hadn't his father told him sooner of his surprising, decisive action.  His family line would be tainted forever now, without a strong alliance to the Dark Lord.  Draco was just beginning to become part of the revels, and was well on his way to becoming a prominent Death Eater himself.  He sat with his head in his hands as he attempted to rationalize his father's actions.  Draco was quite surprised when the rustle of robes brushed through the entryway to the common room,.

            "Go away.  I don't want to talk to anybody."

            "Come now, Draco, is that any way to speak to your Head of House?"

            "Professor Snape," he stuttered with surprise, "I didn't realize it was you."

            "Obviously," the teacher muttered under his breath.  Snape stood behind the occupied armchair for five minutes before speaking again.  "Do not worry about the Malfoy name, Draco.  It will still maintain its status in the wizarding world."  Snape had been actively cooperating solely with Dumbledore for years now, despite his perfect attendance at the Dark Lord's revels as a spy.

            As the professor left the room, Draco couldn't help thinking just how right his Head of House actually was.  His father wouldn't do anything foolish enough to ruin his family's name.

*          *            *            *            *            *

            Lucius Malfoy was welcomed to Hogwarts with many open arms for the first time since his graduation from the school many years ago.  Not all of the teachers were willing to accept his cross over to the side of the good, but they allowed his entry because Dumbledore so easily accepted the blond man as one of his own.  Nevertheless, Lucius was instructed not to enter the party until everyone else had already been seated.  Dumbledore was treating him like a prince of some sort, announcing his arrival, and making a big show of everything Lucius did.  The blond wizard was actually quite nervous - he had no way of knowing how the entire school population would behave in his presence, now that he was no longer burdened with the pressure of the Dark Mark which still graced his forearm.__

As a symbol of welcome for their guests, the faculty formed a makeshift receiving line as the students and other welcomed guests proceeded into the Great Hall from their respective dormitories or living quarters.  A red carpet had been spread across the atrium to enhance the festive spirit of the evening.  The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws entered first, all dressed in their finest.  There were robes of every color in the crowd of students.  Dumbledore had made sure to only allow formal attire at this very special victory party.  The Slytherins made their way up from their dungeon common room.  Even Draco, after yet another mood swing as he was preparing for the party, was present in his best dress robes.

            The Gryffindor trio were some of the last students to arrive, almost late, as was to be expected of them.  The boys, Ron and Harry, were dressed in simple black robes with either scarlet or gold accents in their ties and shirts below the robes.  Hermione graced the scene in robes of royal purple with strands of gold shimmering throughout the material.  Her gold jewelry glistened in the candlelight as she followed the boys down the receiving line.  A rough hand on her shoulder halted her progress, almost causing her to stumble into Ron, who was discussing something with Professor McGonagall.

            "Miss Granger…"

            "Oh, hello Professor Snape.   I didn't see you standing there in the shadows."  She smiled politely to her potions master.

            "I wonder, Miss Granger, how much homework you didn't complete in order to look your finest tonight for Mr. Malfoy."

            Hermione blushed at this cheeky comment and quickly changed her focus of conversation.  Hermione had been extremely cautious around Professor Snape ever since the first time he called her a "know-it-all" in class.  Hermione was moving closer to her friends, when she was nearly trampled in a stampede of joy.  She turned quickly enough to avoid any collisions.

            "Sirius!" the trio shouted in unison.

            "Professor Lupin!" Hermione found Lupin standing behind Sirius, half hidden in the little crows.

            The two newest guests smiled and happily greeted their three favorite students.  After everyone had been greeted, Lupin headed into the party with the trio and the other staff members.  Sirius was able to grab a hold of Snape after Dumbledore and McGonagall went to bring Lucius Malfoy down to the party.

            "I saw what your did to Hermione before.  What the hell kind of comment was that to make to a student?" Sirius queried.

            "What are you talking about?  I asked a perfectly legitimate question, being that I am her teacher."

            "Oh come off it Snape, it sounded like you were trying to pick her up."

            Sensing a serious argument about to erupt, Snape simply broke off conversation and strode into the Great Hall.  Sirius entered as well, taking a seat at the Gryffindor table between Harry and Lupin.

            Dumbledore and the others had returned to the doors of the Great Hall.  Realizing that everyone was waiting for them, the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress entered and took their places at the staff table, but Dumbledore remained standing.

            "I know you are all waiting for this party to get started, so I will not keep you in suspense any longer.  Here is our guest of honor, Mr. Lucius Malfoy!"

            The double doors magically swung open, and a very smartly dressed wizard came staggering down the center aisle.  The entire crowd gasped in a unison inhale.  Draco cringed when he saw his father enter.  The young blond wizard rested his head in his hands and thought to himself, "Holy Merlin, the damn wanker's got himself drunk before the party's even started…"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 

            Lucius Malfoy found himself standing in front of the entire school not knowing what to say.  Now that he was in the spotlight, he was more nervous than ever.  Lucius pulled a silver flask from his robes before he spoke to his audience.

            "Thank you for welcoming me here," he began, not knowing exactly what he wanted to say.  A loud hiccup escaped before he continued speaking.  He wrung his hands together in front of him and glanced nervously from Dumbledore to McGonagall to Snape, looking for help from anyone who would offer it.

            After realizing that Malfoy was not capable of continuing any kind of speech, Dumbledore rose to stand next to the drunken wizard and stated, "It seems that Mr. Malfoy would like the party to start.  So start it will."  With a wave of the wand, the statue centerpieces at each table began rotating, causing a clear liquid to flow into a ring of tankards surrounding the statue.  The tables filled with delicious food of all sorts, and the newest hits from the Weird Sisters and other popular wizard bands began playing in the background.  As Dumbledore began eating, Lucius decided that the party _finally_ had officially started, and reached forward to refill his flask from the rotating fountain conveniently placed right in front of him.

            Sirius and Lupin had done the same at the Gryffindor table, removing two of the tankards from their places.  The fountain seemed to realize there were glasses missing from the circle, and stopped the flow of liquid as the mouth passed over the empty places.

            "Bloody hell, look at that!" Ron exclaimed, "Dumbledore really pulled out all the stops for this party."  Ron reached across the table for a tankard of his own and drank, washing down the roasted pig he was eating.  As he put down his mug, Hermione smiled and laughed at him.

            "Ron, I hate to say this, but your whole upper lip is icy pink."

            "It would only make sense that it is pink, because I just drank the best strawberry daquiri in the world!"

            Sirius glanced at the trio from underneath the table – he had just thrown a spoonful of mashed potatoes toward the Slytherin table – and put his two cents into the conversation.  "Strawberry daquiri?  My tankard was an Alabama slammer."

            Hermione nearly leaped out of her seat in excitement, "The drinks are like that scene in "Mary Poppins", where they all take medicine from the same bottle, but it tastes different to each one of them."

            "Mary _who_?"

            "You really need Muggle Studies, Ron.  "Mary Poppins is an American muggle movie, made by a man named Disney."

            Ron just gave a sheepish grin and turned back to join conversation with Harry, Seamus, and Neville.  Everyone at the table laughed as both Sirius and Lupin had to duck out of the way of some rogue peas thrown by Peeves, who had also discovered the effects of the magical fountains.  Clearly, the whole Gryffindor house was on their way to becoming plastered.

            Bushy-haired Hermione, after much persuasion from a tipsy Harry and Ron, had finally taken a tankard from the center of the table.  Even though she was in her seventh year and was friends with the two sneakiest boys in the school, Hermione still had never imbibed any alcohol.  Since she didn't know much about mixed drinks, she told the fountain to pour a piña colada.  The trio, plus Sirius and Lupin, toasted Hermione losing her alcoholic virginity, and they all chugged their tankards.  Hermione received a small standing ovation for downing her first drink, and everyone was quite surprised when she immediately refilled her mug with another piña colada.

            Up at the staff table, Lucius was finally drunk enough to not care about how anyone treated him.  The party was given for him, and he was going to have a good time, no matter what happened.  Dumbledore and McGonagall were beginning to get rosy-cheeked with their tonic and gin and Long Island iced tea, respectively.

            Severus Snape knew from past experience that eventually, once he was drunk enough, Lucius would turn the evening into a contest to see who could get the drunkest, especially since Dumbledore had foolishly opened the alcoholic beverage consumption to the whole school.  Due to both the inevitable drinking contest and his strong desire _not_ to be at this party, Snape did not waste any time getting started on his stash of firewhiskey.  Amazingly, he had downed three shots, poured individually, in fifteen seconds.  No doubt there had been sufficient practice time in his past.  After the shots, Severus had taken a breather just in time to see Lucius stand up shakily from the table and jump down to mingle among the students.  The rest of the staff had noticed the sudden movement, but laughed it off, believing that Lucius simply wanted to speak to his son.  Unfortunately, talking was not on top of the to-do list that Lucius was carrying around.

            Sirius had decided to wander around the Great Hall for a while, to talk to the other professors and to see what kinds of mischief he could rustle up.  Lupin, who was quite proficient at holding his liquor, followed along, to keep Sirius from getting into too much trouble.

            As he stood at the table to leave, he gave the trio a heads up, "I'd be careful if I were you.  It looks like the party is about to get started."

            Harry lifted himself up to see who Lupin was talking about, and collapsed to his seat in surprise, "What the hell is Malfoy doing talking to Sirius?  Shouldn't he be at the Slytherin table?"

            Ron had to put his two knuts in, "Nobody knows what he will do, but look, I'm afraid I've lost a shoe."  He held his foot up on the table while looking confused as to where his shoe could have ended up.

            "Oh, Ronny, look here darling, here's your shoe!"  Hermione pulled the shoe out of a large serving dish of creamed corn, "I wonder how it got there…"

            "Thanks, Hermione, very much.  Oh look!  They're playing double dutch!"  Everyone had now focused their attention to the center of the room where Sirius, Lucius, and Dumbledore were taking turns jumping rope to the beat of the music that was still playing rather loudly in the background.

            Severus had followed Lucius into the crowd of people, and now stood at the edge of the small circle that had gathered around the double-dutchers.  None of the students were standing too close to the potions master because anyone who got within five feet of the professor got a look that rivaled those usually reserved for the Gryffindor class during Double Potions with the Slytherins.  He wouldn't have minded a crowd at the party, but he had a very definite image to uphold.

            Hermione had seen the crowd gathering around the jump ropers, and had decided to go see what it was all about.  She almost fell over twice as she found a vantage spot, due to the large amount of alcohol wreaking havoc on her.  She couldn't see from her first vantage point, so she wound her way to the other side of the crowd.  She was so drawn by the action that she didn't realize who she had ended up standing next to.

            "Miss Granger," there was a slight pause as she focused on who was talking to her, "Miss Granger, I see you have found the enchantment of the liquor bottle."

            She looked up at him wide-eyed as she spoke, "Oh yes, Professor.  I wonder why I had never discovered it before.  You look lovely tonight, dear Professor.  Your clothes match wonderfully."

            "Merlin, is she _flirting_ with me?  There are so many more appropriate boys here for her to be with," he thought.  Although secretly he knew he liked her attention.

            Hermione was just about to slip her hand into his, when suddenly the jumping stopped and Lucius fell forward, having tripped over the rope.  The students around the circle moved out of the way for the falling man, and laughed as he hit the floor with a loud thud.  Snape quickly moved in to remove the blond man from the floor.

            "Oh, Severus!  Nice of you to join the party!" Lucius said as Snape picked him up.  "Where were you hiding?  You missed the jumping contest."

            Snape remained silent and ignored that last comment, as he was in no mood to start arguing with anybody.  He definitely needed more to drink, so he made his way slowly back to the staff table to refill his flask.  Unfortunately, Professor Snape couldn't manage to shake the feeling that the Gryffindor Know-It-All was staring at him.  Drunk or sober, every student should know better than to stare at the surly Potions Master.

            What on earth was Father thinking?  I can't imagine why he would do anything like that.  Draco nearly choked on his dinner when he looked up to see Lucius skipping rope with the Headmaster.  The action needed to cease immediately, but Draco was too embarrassed to do anything about it.  As he scanned the room, he saw his Head of House glaring oddly in the direction of the Mudblood.  Too many things were going on in his head at the moment, so he didn't give it any thought when Hermione winked at Professor Snape.  Totally overwhelmed, Draco slumped into his chair and tried to pretend that this whole scene hadn't happened.


End file.
